Guillermo de Llera Blanes

Biography

Guillermo de Llera Blanes is an ethnomusicologist, musician, composer, multimedia artist, and researcher based in Lisbon. He conducts research at the Institute of Ethnomusicology – Centre for Studies in Music and Dance (INET-md), at NOVA FCSH, where he completed his PhD in Ethnomusicology with a project focused on hybrid musical instruments (digital/traditional), remix, and contemporary performance practices. He is the founder/CEO of Kaminari Records, a member of the band Primitive Reason, and an independent artist working in audiovisual performance and multimedia creation. Over more than three decades, he has built a career as a multi-instrumentalist performer and composer, with a focus on intercultural musical practices and hybrid approaches to sound creation. He has specialized in the study and practice of instruments from different traditions, including Indian tablas, West and North African percussion, the Australian didgeridoo, the Japanese mukkuri, and the Turkish saz, among others, with particular attention to their playability. He currently researches digital musical instruments (DMIs) and performance controllers, with emphasis on the development of the MidiMbira and the formulation of Playability Theory, exploring the relationships between tradition, technology, remix, and new forms of 21st Century musicality. From an artcademic perspective, he has published on controllerism, remix culture, instrumental innovation, and musical practices in intercultural contexts, articulating academic research and artistic creation, with a special interest in multimodal publications.